Sharing good practice in planning education

The aim of this report is two-fold. First, it aims to highlight aspects of good practice in planning education in the UK (with ‘planning’ variously known for instance as spatial planning, urban and regional planning, city and regional planning, and town and country planning), in order to disseminate relevant ideas and innovations and thereby widen their use by ‘planning schools’ (the Royal Town Planning Institute [RTPI]-accredited higher education discipline units teaching planning). Second, it aims to provide suggestions for how to improve the sharing of good practice within planning schools. Good practice is seen here simply as that which provides creditable outcomes in terms of learning and teaching effectiveness, as indicated by higher education providers and supported by wider evidence. The report is based on documentary evidence as well as a survey of the opinion of UK planning schools conducted in Spring 2014. It is intended to be of interest to academics within planning as well as the broader built environment field, but also to practitioners/employers who have an interest in initial (or pre-qualification) education and/or lifelong learning, for instance via their involvement in teaching/learning, mentoring or similar activities. It was sponsored by the Higher Education Academy, the RTPI and the Conference of Heads of Planning Schools.